Catch up on the week's harness racing action in our weekly review, thanks to Darren Clayton.
THE GOOD
The year 2023 has started in the same vein that 2022 finished for Queensland trained three-year male pacers competing at New South Wales premier track, Menangle.
Last season it was Leap To Fame that was successful in the New South Wales features of the Derby and Breeders Challenge Final, the leading races for three-year-olds in that state.
On Saturday night, the RC Simpson Memorial was conducted, the first feature of the year for the three-year-old colts and geldings in Sydney and once again a Queensland prepared pacer claimed the spoils.
Sure Thing Captain, trained by Shannon Price and driven by Adam Sanderson, led throughout in the $50,000 Group 3 feature, scoring an effortless victory in posting a seven metre winning margin.
Starting as the well-supported $1.35 favourite at just his fourth career start, Sure Thing Captain was quickly away from the start car and within 100 metres, Sanderson had the gelding in control, taking the field through a 27.4 second opening quarter.
Left alone in front, Sure Thing Captain went through the middle half in 58.3 seconds and was in cruise control heading to the home bend.
Allowed to slide up the long Menangle stretch, Sure Thing Captain was strong over the closing 100 metres, zipping home in 26.4 seconds to claim victory.
It was the fourth Group success for the Sanderson and Price combination, with three of those coming in the past six months, all at Group 3 level, adding to the 2019 Group 1 victory with Wee Man Trouble in the DJA Memorial.
Saturday’s trophy now sits beside the Paleface Adios Classic with Hold On To Ya Bling and the Four Year Old Championship with Sumomentsomewhere, both won in July of 2022.
Purchased from the inaugural Nutrien Yearling Sale held in Melbourne in 2021, Price went to $100,000 to secure the then colt by Captaintreacherous.
Now gelded, he only started once in his two-year-old season, stepping out for his first race appearance on December 30 where he started at the prohibitive odds of $1.22 off the back of a super-impressive trial performance.
Despite finishing second in that first race appearance, Sure Thing Captain has been able to claim three successive victories since his debut to remain undefeated as a three-year-old.
His victory in Saturday night’s feature was the third time a Queensland-trained horse has taken out the race, with Sure Thing Captain joining 2019 winner Governor Jujon and 2013 victor Caesar Augustus.
It is a race that has been won by horses that have gone on to big things later in their career over the years, with the honour roll including My Field Marshall, Chariot King, Smooth Satin, Shakamaker and all the way back to the fifth running of the race when Paleface Adios was successful.
THE BAD
Time has been called by the Graham family on the racing career of Mafuta Vautin.
With nothing left to prove in his career, the veteran 12-year-old ends his career in the same manner it started, with a victory at Albion Park.
Bred and owned by Linda Graham, the big chestnut was named after Paul “Fatty” Vautin, with Mafuta a Swahili word meaning fat.
Starting his career as a three-year-old with a 1.58.6 victory on debut, the gelding won his first three starts, his streak ended at start four when striking trouble in the run and failing to finish.
Bouncing back in style, Mafuta Vautin won another three races in quick succession before going for an extended spell, his first preparation ending with six wins from seven starts.
With just on 11 months off the scene, the big chestnut returned to the track as a four-year-old and continued where he left off, winning his first two appearances.
Unplaced at his next three starts, the gelding would again go on a winning streak, this time claiming four successive victories including a pair of feature race wins.
Leading throughout on both occasions, Mafuta Vautin annexed the four-year-old QBRED double by securing the Breeders Classic and Triad Finals, with trainer Darrel Graham in the bike for the Breeders and Adam Sanderson taking the drive in the Triad.
Going winless through his 11-year-old season, it was Brittany Graham taking the reins in what would be the final race appearance for the gelding.
Sent to the front from gate six, it was a slick tempo early with the first quarter laid out in 26.6 seconds, before backing it off to a 31.3 second split.
Bringing it home in closing panels of 28.3 and 28.1, the veteran had just over three metres to spare on the line.
Winning 16 of his first 23 starts Mafuta Vautin retires with the figures of 197: 34-23-23, $317,479 in stakes and a career best rate of 1.50.2 recorded at Menangle.
THE WILDCARD
With five winners for the week, to take his total for 10 for the season, Sunday night at Redcliffe proved the highlight for Ricky Gordon who was able to prepare a quartet of victories.
Starting the night with the lone runner in the opening race of the night, Gordon took the drive on his runner My Ultimate Clippa, leading most of the way before being collared by Mi Furioso Toro up the passing lane, finishing in third place.
Winning the second race with an all the way win by Jang Pel, Nathan Dawson was handed the reins for the winning drive, while Gordon finished in second aboard Lord Denzel.
Race three went to the Gordon-trained Slingin A Gun, this time it was Mathew Neilson that picked up the winning drive.
Race four was another Gordon-trained quinella and another for Nathan Dawson, scoring aboard Fly Cheval, with Gordon again training the quinella, this time it was Trent Moffat in the bike aboard the second placed My Ultimate Heston.
Missing out on the winner in race five as Nathan Dawson picked up a driving treble aboard the Mark McNee-trained True Grit Shadow, the two Gordon trained runners - Blue Title and Charlie My Boy - finished second and third, respectively.
With four runners in the last race, including the race favourite Bella Godiva, Gordon was able to close out the meeting with the quartet as Always At Night took the win, with Trent Moffat taking the reins aboard the winner.
It was also an owning double for Gordon’s partner Lacey Hinze as the owner of Jang Pel and Always At Night and rounded out a successful week for her.
Jang Pel claimed two wins in the week for Hinze and Gordon, leading throughout at Redcliffe on Wednesday night when driven by Gordon, while on Thursday at Redcliffe, Hinze was also represented with the win of Our Dolly a pacer she part owns with her father Warren.
Along with the good success at Redcliffe as an owner, Lacey was also in the winners enclosure as a trainer, preparing Just One Good One to victory on Friday at Albion Park, a pacer she also part owns.
THE MILESTONE
The season has started in fine style for the Deb Belford-trained Scene Of Terror, the mare winning at her past two successive starts.
On Friday at Albion Park, the daughter of Western Terror powered home strongly from back in the pack to score victory by just over three metres and set a new personal best winning mile rate.
Stopping the clock in 1.53.9, the seven-year-old scored her sixth career victory for her owners and breeders, the Ronan family of Victoria.
A mare that has not had much luck since arriving in Queensland last October, she had placed just once in her seven starts at the back end of the 2022 season.
Again out of the money at her first appearance of 2023 at Redcliffe, she was able to turn it around with a smart 1.58.5 victory at the Peninsula, the track where she is also trained from by the Belfords.
Suited by a strong tempo set in front by Wonderwoman Jujon, Dean Belford produced Scene Of Terror at the right time and the mare let down strongly in the stretch to arrive for the victory and go back-to-back.
It was a successful weekend for the owners of Scene Of Terror, with the Ronan’s combining for victory in the opening race of the night at Melton with six-year-old mare Common Courtesy.
Trained by Wayne Ronan and driven by Connor Ronan, Common Courtesy also scored a personal best victory when stopping the clock in a 1.53.0 mile, claiming a seven-metre winning margin.
Scene Of Terror will now look to claim a metropolitan mare’s win and will line up at "The Creek" this coming Saturday.
THIS WEEK
Five race meetings for the week ahead in Queensland, starting with 10 races from The Creek on Tuesday afternoon as the last race meeting of January is conducted.
Albion Park will then host a Friday afternoon meeting followed by the Saturday metropolitan fixture.
Redcliffe will host the regular Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon fixtures.
This week will also see the introduction of increased prize money, with the changes coming into effect from Wednesday night at Redcliffe, being the first meeting of February.
Most standard races at Redcliffe on either Wednesday or Thursday will now offer $6,200 total prize money along with Sunday and Monday meetings increased to $4,000 per race.
Saturday night changes will see base stake races increased to $14,500 along with two races above $20,000 each week
Meanwhile, Tuesday changes will kick in next week, February 7, with base stakes races programmed at $9,000.
